Authorities in Indonesia are closely monitoring Mount Sinabung on Sumatra after the volcano shot smoke and ash more than 1,000 metres into the air this morning (August 23rd).

Villagers were advised to stay 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) from the crater and should be aware of the danger of lava, Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center said.

Lava and other volcanic material spewed from Mount Sinabung in May 2016 killing seven people.

Indonesian man watched as Mount Sinabung spewed volcanic ash as seen from Brastagi in Karo, North Sumatra on August 23, 2020. According to the monitoring of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, Mount Sinabung erupted at a distance of 1000 meters with level III status as one of 130 active volcanoes on "Ring of Fire".

The recommendation for this eruption is that people and visitors or tourists do not carry out activities in the villages that have been relocated, as well as locations within a radial radius of 3 km from the top of Mount Sinabung, and a sectoral radius of 5 km for the south-east sector, and 4 km. for the east-north sector.